Militant violence: Clerics make impassioned appeal for truce
At a huddle organised by Wafaqul Madaris top religious scholars condemn wanton killing of civilians.
According to the sources participants also decided to establish individual contacts with the government and the homegrown Taliban in an attempt to bring them to the negotiating table. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
Distraught by the rampant militant violence in the country, a group of top religious scholars met in an extraordinary session on Monday to condemn the wanton killing of innocent civilians. They also made an impassioned appeal to both the government and the Taliban to cease fire and engage in dialogue to steer the country out of a ‘civil war-like situation’.
“We strongly believe that dialogue is the only way to bring the country out of the civil war-like situation,” the religious scholars from the Deobandi school of thought said in a joint statement following the meeting in Islamabad on Monday.
Wafaqul Madaris – an umbrella of Islamic seminaries belonging to mostly Deobandi school of thought – organised the meeting. The scholars condemned the ongoing violence in the country and expressed grief over the loss of innocent lives.
Sources privy to the meeting told The Express Tribune that the participants also decided to establish individual contacts with the government and the homegrown Taliban in an attempt to bring them to the negotiating table.
“The reckless use of force and bloodshed is not a solution to any problem,” concurred the scholars at the meeting presided over by Wafaqul Madaris President Maulana Saleemullah Khan. “Violent attacks are killing and maiming innocent civilians in different parts of the country – which is a matter of grave concern.”
They, however, expressed satisfaction over the willingness of both the government and the Taliban to pursue dialogue. “This is the only way to unite the nation on a single platform and fight external conspiracies,” they said in the statement.
Two factions of politico-religious Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maulana Samiul Haq, are already making efforts to broker a peace deal between the government and the Taliban. Their efforts were prompted by last month’s all-party conference where major political groups supported the dialogue option.
However, the recent surge in attacks called the government’s strategy into question. Interestingly, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan – the outlawed group responsible for most bloodshed in the country – denied involvement in most of these attacks.
The participants of Monday’s meeting claimed that some forces were trying to create chaos and confusion to sabotage the embryonic peace process. They, however, did not name these ‘forces’.
Attendees included Mufti-i-Azam Pakistan Mufti Rafi Usmani, Mufti Taqi Usmani and Wafaqul Madaris Secretary General Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhri.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2013.
Distraught by the rampant militant violence in the country, a group of top religious scholars met in an extraordinary session on Monday to condemn the wanton killing of innocent civilians. They also made an impassioned appeal to both the government and the Taliban to cease fire and engage in dialogue to steer the country out of a ‘civil war-like situation’.
“We strongly believe that dialogue is the only way to bring the country out of the civil war-like situation,” the religious scholars from the Deobandi school of thought said in a joint statement following the meeting in Islamabad on Monday.
Wafaqul Madaris – an umbrella of Islamic seminaries belonging to mostly Deobandi school of thought – organised the meeting. The scholars condemned the ongoing violence in the country and expressed grief over the loss of innocent lives.
Sources privy to the meeting told The Express Tribune that the participants also decided to establish individual contacts with the government and the homegrown Taliban in an attempt to bring them to the negotiating table.
“The reckless use of force and bloodshed is not a solution to any problem,” concurred the scholars at the meeting presided over by Wafaqul Madaris President Maulana Saleemullah Khan. “Violent attacks are killing and maiming innocent civilians in different parts of the country – which is a matter of grave concern.”
They, however, expressed satisfaction over the willingness of both the government and the Taliban to pursue dialogue. “This is the only way to unite the nation on a single platform and fight external conspiracies,” they said in the statement.
Two factions of politico-religious Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam, led by Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maulana Samiul Haq, are already making efforts to broker a peace deal between the government and the Taliban. Their efforts were prompted by last month’s all-party conference where major political groups supported the dialogue option.
However, the recent surge in attacks called the government’s strategy into question. Interestingly, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan – the outlawed group responsible for most bloodshed in the country – denied involvement in most of these attacks.
The participants of Monday’s meeting claimed that some forces were trying to create chaos and confusion to sabotage the embryonic peace process. They, however, did not name these ‘forces’.
Attendees included Mufti-i-Azam Pakistan Mufti Rafi Usmani, Mufti Taqi Usmani and Wafaqul Madaris Secretary General Qari Muhammad Hanif Jalandhri.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 1st, 2013.